bomb in a birdcage
by complimentarycouture
Summary: The coffee shop AU where Sam owns the shop below Cas's office, Dean is a dick, and Cas likes half-caf lattes. (Dean/Cas...at some point.)
1. thursday

Cas Novak doesn't think it's weird that he spends a couple afternoons of every week working at the table near the window in Winchester Coffee Company instead of in his office. He runs a small company, and it's not like he ever gets visitors - and if he did, Ruby would know where to find him. Plus, he's known the owner for years, ever since Sam started up the coffee shop below Cas's office and provided him steady supply of caffeine. Sam likes him and he likes Sam and they both like coffee and Rambo movies and classic literature. It works well.

Cas is a creature of habit, so when he steps into Winchester's on Thursday afternoon and sees the espresso machine being manned by someone who is not Sam or Jo or even Ash, the weird guy who works night shifts, he's unsettled. He mentally steels himself and approaches the counter like he's about to do battle with it.

New Guy turns around and smiles. He's not bad-looking, if Cas is honest with himself (and Cas is almost always honest with himself). And he has a nice smile, but Cas gets the feeling that he doesn't exactly want to be there.

"Welcome to Winchester's," New Guy says. "What'll it be?" He shifts his weight and leans on the counter and Cas gets the impression that this man really belongs behind a bar and not a coffee shop register.

"Large half-caf latte," Cas says, offering over his credit card. "Where's Sam?"

New Guy shifts uncomfortably again and shrugs without looking up from the register. "Not here," he says.

_Helpful_, thinks Cas. "Are you new? I've never seen you here before."

"Yeah," New Guy says slowly. "What, you keep tabs on this place?" He frowns as he hands Cas back his credit card and moves to work on the espresso machine.

"I'm a friend of Sam's," Cas answers. "I'm in here pretty often, that's all. My name is Cas."

"Sam never mentioned you."

Cas scoffs lightly to himself. "What, you keep tabs on Sam's friends?"

New Guy turns around and eyes Cas up and down like he's sizing him up. Cas straightens his spine self-consciously.

"I'm his brother," New Guy says after a pause. "Dean." He doesn't wait for Cas to respond before he narrows his eyes, leans into Cas's space, and snarls, "Enjoy your latte." Then he turns to a new customer walking in the door, smiles brightly, and yells, "Hey, welcome to Winchester's!"

Cas walks to his window seat frowning and decides he wants Sam back.


	2. saturday

"So you met Dean," Sam says when Cas comes in on Saturday morning. "Hope he wasn't too much of a dick."

Cas hums non-committally. "He makes a decent latte, but his storefront manners could use work."

Sam laughs bitterly. "Yeah, he can turn on the charm when he wants to, but when he doesn't...Well." He shrugs and leaves his thought unfinished.

"He got a little…defensive when I told him we were friends," Cas says slowly.

Sam busies himself with clearing the table next to Cas's. "Dean doesn't know a whole lot about my life here," he says. "Which is partly my doing and partly his, too. He's just adjusting." He stands and smiles sadly at Cas. "He needed a job, but he's only gonna be here on Thursdays. I'll tell him to behave." Cas waves him off with a smile, but when Sam turns his back, he frowns. _Well, awesome._


	3. next thursday

Cas almost thinks he's going to be lucky when he walks through the doors on Thursday at 1 pm and doesn't see Dean anywhere. But of course, fate hates him and Dean suddenly straightens up from where he was hidden stacking boxes under the counter. He looks less pleased to see him than Cas feels. (Cas has also decided that he totally isn't good looking _at all_. He's only mostly honest with himself, after all.)

"Hello, Dean," he says pleasantly.

Dean nods. "Cas."

"Sam tells me you're living with him now," Cas says.

"Sam opens his damn mouth too much."

Cas huffs. "To his friends?"

"Look, buddy, this is the first I have heard of Sam being friends with - "

"Anybody?" Cas cuts him off. "What did you think he was doing the last four years, sleeping on a bench?"

Dean is keeping a tight lid on his anger, but Cas sees it anyway. "Of course not," Dean says, "but he never talked about his _good friend Cas_." He puts an emphasis on the last phrase that makes Cas's spine crawl. And not in a pleasant way.

"Well, that wasn't entirely his fault, _Dean_."

Dean laughs tightly. "Look, I tried to talk to him, and it's not my fault the kid didn't want to talk to the only family he's got left."

"So that's why you hate the family he's made here?"

"He's _my_ brother!" Dean lunges forward and Cas jumps a half-step back from the counter before Dean stops himself suddenly, like he's just remembered where he is, and breathes in sharply. They stare at each other silently before Dean breaks the gaze and shoves away from the register.

"Here's your damn half-caf latte," he says, sliding a mug across the counter towards Cas. Then he spins on his heel and storms to the back room.

Cas gapes at the drink and tries to get his heart rate back to normal. _What the hell._

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**Hey people! Thanks to everyone reading...This is my first time writing AU and writing Dean/Cas so...we'll see how it goes. The world can always use more coffee shop AUs, I always say.**_  
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	4. next saturday

**Thanks to my reviewers! You asked for longer chapters, you will get longer chapters! [: Well. You should, at least. I've already written several of them but I'm expanding them to make them longer than just little drabbles. Hope you enjoy!**

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On Sunday, Cas goes over to Sam's apartment to watch the football game. It's not the best experience. It starts with Dean answering the door silently and staring Cas down (silently) before turning around and walking back into the living room (silently). Sam waves at Cas from inside the apartment and smiles.

"Glad you could make it," he says as he takes the bag of chips Cas is holding. "We're out of beer, but we have Coke."

"Oh, I could have brought some," Cas offers.

"No, no!" Sam shouts from the kitchen. "Would've been a bother, Cas, no big deal."

"Kind of a big deal," Dean says grouchily.

Sam has come back into the living room and throws Dean a face, to which Dean responds with another face, and just as Cas is starting to feel like he's really intruding on this silent conversation, Dean throws his hands up and gets off the couch. "I'm going outside," he says.

"Those things are gonna kill you," Sam says to his retreating back.

"Good a thing as any," Dean retorts, and leaves. He stays outside until the first down, and when he comes back in Cas smells cigarette smoke.

Sam's phone rings after the game is over and they're still snacking on the leftover Doritos. "Hey, Jess!" he says excitedly, and then mouths _sorry_ at Cas as he leaves the apartment. Cas smiles and listens to Dean shuffling around in the kitchen. He crumples up the various chip bags on the coffee table and pads quietly into the room. Dean is facing away from him, loading dirty plates into the dishwasher, and humming to himself. Cas thinks he hears The Beatles. Cas takes a deep breath.

"Dean?" Dean jumps and turns around. The humming stops.

"What?" Cas winces at the sharpness in his tone. He clears his throat.

"Please don't blame me for Sam not speaking to you," he says, shifting the chips back and forth between his hands.

"Are we really doing this right now?"

"And please know that it wasn't because he didn't love you."

Dean snorts. "And that's supposed to make me feel better?"

"He talked about you a lot," Cas says. "He always cared about you."

"Did Sam tell you why I'm here?" Dean asks suddenly. The sudden change of direction unbalances Cas and he shakes his head. Dean turns back to the sink. "'Course not."

"Why are you here then?"

A glass bangs on the counter where Dean slams it down. "Why don't you ask Sam?" he says bitterly.

Cas moves to the trashcan. "I'd rather hear it from you," he says.

Dean stares at him. "Why?"

Cas shrugs. "I like getting my information first-hand."

"Can't be accused of gossiping?"

"First-hand is easier to grasp."

"I'll bet."

"What?"

Dean turns around suddenly and Cas makes a mental note that the trashcan is much nearer the sink than he previously thought it was. _Hmm_. Dean looks down at him and opens his mouth like he's about to answer but doesn't speak, just stares. Cas holds his breath. Because of the cigarette smell. That's all.

"I think you should go," Dean says. It's quiet, but it's a challenge. Cas nods. Neither of them look away. The front door bangs open and closed, and Sam asks where the chips went. Cas takes one step backwards, then another, then turns and walks out of the apartment with a dazed goodbye to Sam.


	5. a couple of mondays

**(Originally, these were two separate chapters, but I went ahead and combined them because of how short they were. The next chapter also may or may not be a little longer in coming, because I'm not entirely happy with how it's timed right now...blurgle. I feel like it needs more between this and what I have planned next...ehehehe. Okay. I'm shutting up now. Enjoy this chapter.)**

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Here's the thing. Cas is not by nature an argumentative man. He is sarcastic, yes, and defensive, maybe, but it's not like he makes a habit of picking fights with baristas who happen to be the older (attractive) brothers of his best friend/neighbor. It's just that Dean is really easy to bicker with for several reasons (_attractiveness_), and also, he's the one who's usually starting the fights, so really, none of this is Cas's fault. _At all._

He doesn't think he ought to be blamed, then, when on Monday morning his and Dean's back-and-forth stream of meaningless insults across the coffee counter grows increasingly heated until Sam has to step in and separate them. Because it was _Dean's fault_. Damn attractive motherhugger. Sam manhandles Dean away from the counter and then grabs Cas by the elbow and leads him outside.

"Look, Cas," Sam says once they're through the door, "I love you, dude, but you guys can't be fighting in the shop. I'm sorry that Dean's a dick and you don't get along, but if you can't be around him then maybe you shouldn't be in the shop as often." He presses his lips together and makes those puppy-eyes that make him so hard to say no to and _okay, okay!_ Cas runs his fingers through his hair and sighs.

"Sorry," he says. "I'll, uh, try to control myself." He's basically just saying it just to make Sam feel better, because _it's not my fault_, but still. The thought of losing his Winchester's privileges scares him more than he's exactly willing to admit to himself.

After Sam goes back inside, Cas stands on the bottom step up to his office and doesn't want to go upstairs. He glances through the window to the coffee shop inside and sees Sam glaring at Dean, who's across the room sweeping. When Dean turns so his face is to the window, Cas thinks he looks sad.

_Well, screw him_, Cas thinks with sudden vehemence, _he's costing me my coffee_. And he stomps up the stairs. Ruby rolls her eyes when he bangs open the door to the office.

"Fight with the boyfriend? Oh – wait, forgot you don't have one," she says sarcastically. Cas glares at her. "Jesus. Won't get one with that face, either."

"Shut up, Ruby."

"Or maybe you need one, make you nicer. I have this friend named Luc – "

Cas shuts the door to his office and tries not to dwell on the injustice of a world that makes beautiful baristas into assholes by drafting several boring cover letters. It doesn't work.

It rains the whole week long, and the next Monday morning is cold and doesn't look hopeful for sunshine. Cas rubs his hands together as he walks into Winchester's for the first time since Sam kicked him out (his coffee maker at home got a workout this week). When he looks around, he's glad to see Sam smiling at him and _totally not_ disappointed that Dean isn't anywhere in sight. Life must be out to please Cas, however, since Dean saunters out of the back room while Cas and Sam are making small talk and leans his forearms on the counter. He smirks.

"Look who showed up," he says.

Sam rolls his eyes. "Dean – "

Dean groans and slides off of the counter. "Sorry, sorry, don't want to intrude."

Sam turns to Cas again and starts to say something when Jo calls to him from the back room and he excuses himself with a smile. Cas is set to go drink the office coffee from the Keurig Ruby insisted they needed when Dean suddenly steps back to the counter. Cas sighs.

"I don't suppose you're spitting in my drinks when you make them, are you?"

Dean considers this. "Not unless you've been spitting in the tip jar," he says after a moment. He turns to make Cas's latte.

"That's disgusting."

"That's life."

"Not really the brightest outlook."

"Not really the greatest life."

Cas frowns. Sam had, occasionally, hinted that he hadn't had the greatest time growing up – hence the whole running-away-to-California-and-starting-a-coffee-shop thing – but he'd always sort of brushed it off like it was no big deal, so Cas had too. He suddenly thinks that might make him a shitty friend.

Cas shrugs off this train of thought in favor of making another comeback. "A life full of unhappy customers?" he asks flippantly.

"Oh, believe me," Dean says with a laugh. "I always make people happy." He turns and braces his hands on the counter next to Cas's hips and leans in so there's only inches between their faces. He lowers his voice and fairly growls out his next words. "Very, very, happy."

Cas does not, does not stare at his lips. It's difficult. "Is that so?" is the only thing he manages to say. Dean hmms in affirmation and breathes in deeply and oh god, did Cas just get turned on by his barista _smelling_ him? Oh _god_. He's starting to wonder if he will ever be able to move away from the counter when Dean does it first, whips around and finishes the latte while humming a Led Zeppelin song. He smirks when he hands it across the counter to Cas, who pretty much shoves his cash at him and mutters _keep the change_ before he rushes out of the shop.

_Oh god_.


	6. tuesday

Cas is glaring at a financial statement like if he looks hard enough it'll morph into the numbers he wants on Tuesday afternoon when Ruby pushes open his door. "Some cute guy is here with coffee for you," she says.

Cas blinks. "Sam?" Ruby likes Sam. It's weird.

But she shrugs. "Nope, never seen him before in my life. You should probably hit that, or I will."

"Ruby!" Cas makes a strangled noise. "Why are you so interested in my sex life?" Ruby makes a face at him and steps back out of the doorway with an _okay, okay_ and then, oh joyous day! Dean walks in, his Winchester's apron still tied around his waist and a coffee cup in his hand. "Hey," he says, and then falls silent and stands awkwardly in front of Cas's desk. Cas waits. Ruby is eavesdropping.

After a moment, Dean seems to remember why he came. "Oh. You weren't downstairs so I brought you coffee," he says, gesturing to the cup in his hand.

"Oh. Well. Thank you. I don't have any cash on me, I don't think – "

"On the house."

Cas blinks again. "Oh. Thank you." Dean nods. He's still holding the coffee cup and rocking back and forth on his heels. The two of them stare at each other silently for a few more moments before Cas says "Yes?" just as Dean says all in a rush, "Do you want to go out with me?"

"What?" Cas asks. He probably didn't hear right.

"On a date," Dean explains. He waves the coffee cup vaguely. "With me."

Cas stares at him. Dean looks like he might have an aneurysm. Cas literally has _no freaking idea_ how to answer him, and he looks away, starts to talk, doesn't, starts to talk again, and what finally comes out is "Why?"

It's not him at his smoothest. He winces a little bit. Dean looks startled and a little confused. He splutters a few times before saying bluntly, "Because you're hot?"

Cas's jaw drops. "No," he says, angrily, and then another "no!" for emphasis. The part of him that wants to preen because _Dean Winchester thinks I'm hot_ is pretty much drowned out by the part of him that's too proud to say yes to _that_, and he shakes his head as he turns back to his paperwork.

Dean's face falls. "Oh. Are you not - I thought Sam had - never mind..."

"Yes, I like men," Cas growls, frustrated. He slams the statement down on the desk. "But you've hated me since you moved here, assbutt. Why would I want to go out with you?"

"I don't!" Dean says haltingly. "I don't. Hate you."

"Oh," Cas scoffs, "Well, you do a good job of showing it."

"I'm not - good at that kind of thing - "

"Obviously."

Frustrated, Dean runs his hand across his mouth and huffs. "Sorry I asked," he says.

"Yeah, me too."

Dean glares at an indeterminate spot on the wall above Cas's right shoulder and looks like he's trying to say something else, but then he not-quite-slams the coffee cup on the desk and leaves. He bumps shoulders with Ruby as he goes, and she steps past him and leans against Cas's doorframe. She watches Dean leave the office over her shoulder, and then turns to Cas.

"Cas. You just turned down a date with the hottest guy you've ever seen. Who thinks you're hot. Who _brought you coffee_."

Cas drops his head into his hands. "Ye-es," he whines. "Don't remind me."

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******Aaaaaaaagh, so I'm not exactly happy with this chapter, but it's here because it...has to be here. I guess. I don't know. ANYWAYS. Bless you for reading this. Sorry I'm not a better writer. /hides under area rug**

**p.s. i love constructive reviews! that's how i get better [:**


	7. two things on a saturday

**YOU GUYS. I've already written 3 more chapters after this one, and I'm really excited about them, and it's REALLY HARD not to just post them all at once. But I know that if I do that, it'll take me forever to get another chapter up...so, I'll keep spacing them out. [: Enjoy this chapter...and thank you for reading! kisses all around for reviews. mwah.**

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Cas finds out two things on Saturday that he thinks he'd rather not have learned.

The first is that he's listed as Sam's primary emergency contact. He finds this out when some stranger at the hospital calls Cas at 7 AM and tells him that Sam Winchester was in a car accident and yes, he's okay, but sir, you should really come down here, do you know if he has a next of kin?

Cas once had to go back to his ex's house to pick up a bunch of his stuff after a nasty breakup in college. He suspects that might have been more awkward than having to go to Sam's apartment when he knows Dean will be there alone, but it's not by much. He pounds on the door, expecting its occupant to still be sleeping at 7:30, and instead he's greeted by a very awake and grumpy Dean holding a glass of whiskey in one hand and a bowl of Lucky Charms in the other.

Which is how Cas accidentally figures out thing number two: Dean is an alcoholic. Cas frowns a little at the glass of Jack and Dean quickly hides it behind the door.

"What do you want?" he asks roughly.

"Sam is in the hospital." Dean's face turns to absolute panic at the words, and if Cas wasn't trying to hate him so much he might want to, you know, comfort him or something. But he just repeats what the man on the phone told him while Dean rushes around the apartment, putting down the whiskey, grabbing his leather jacket, feeling in the pocket for his cigarettes, and then picking up another box on the way out the door. He heads straight for his own car – a big black land yacht of a thing – but Cas clears his throat and gestures to his car. "You don't both need to crash in one day," he grumbles. Dean doesn't look happy about it but goes with him.

Cas almost regrets preventing that particular drinking & driving incident as soon as they get on the road. Dean bounces his knee up and down nervously and keeps one hand in his pocket. He's glanced at Cas about seven times when he thinks Cas can't see before Cas finally snaps, "You can smoke in the car!" at him. Dean attempts to look annoyed at Cas for snapping, but when he rolls down the window and takes his first drag of the cigarette he looks enormously relieved. Cas sighs. Hospital or no, Sam so owes him for this.

Sam has a broken leg and lots of bruising. According to the overly chatty nurse _(Becca? Becky?)_, it looked pretty nasty when he came in, but he's fixed up now and he'll be perfectly fine in time. Cas hangs back to let Dean go in to see Sam alone (because Dean's about to jump out of his skin standing outside the door) and goes to find the coffee machine. When he comes back with his sad excuse for coffee, Dean is hanging around outside Sam's room. He waves awkwardly to Cas. "Sam wants to see you," he mutters, and lets Cas pass.

"Hey, Cas!" Sam smiles broadly as he walks in and seems a little too happy for having been in a car crash just a few hours ago. Cas suspects it may be the painkillers.

"Hello, Sam," Cas says. "How are you feeling?"

"Well, I mean, actually not that bad," Sam says enthusiastically. Definitely the painkillers.

"What'd you get yourself into?" Cas asks as he sits down next to the angled bed.

Sam laughs softly and shrugs his shoulders. "Some guy ran a red light and broadsided me," he says tiredly. He snorts. "Hit my passenger side, though, so he's worse off than I am."

"Is it just your leg?" Cas asks.

Sam nods. "Yeah. So I can probably get back in the shop in a few days."

"Would you like me to tell Jess?"

Sam smiles dazedly up at Cas. "Yeah, could you?" he asks. "Dean doesn't know her."

"Sure," Cas says. He pauses. "Your brother was very concerned."

Sam looks down at his hands in his lap. "Yeah," he replies slowly, "I guess he kinda never got over thinking he has to take care of me." He yawns and rolls his head back up to smile at his friend sleepily. Cas smiles back at him and tells him he'll let him rest. He pats his shoulder gently as he leaves.

Dean is slumped in one of the waiting room chairs and staring at the door to Sam's room, but he glances away when Cas walks out. Cas sighs and plunks himself down in the chair beside Dean.

"Sam is sleeping," he tells him. He doesn't look at Dean, but he can feel him relaxing minutely next to him.

"Thanks," Dean says. He pauses. "For…being there. For Sam." Cas turns and looks at Dean curiously. Dean clears his throat a few times. "I mean. Because I wasn't. So it's nice. Um, nice to know that someone was."

Cas watches the side of Dean's face. "You're welcome," he says softly. He had been planning on asking about the Jack-Daniels-for-breakfast thing, but he finds that it feels good, actually being nice to Dean for once, and he finds that he kind of likes it.

And then Dean shoves himself up off of his chair. "No more chick-flick crap. I need a smoke."


	8. the friday in the alleyway

**I can't help it, you guys. I just want to post everything. Exciting stuff starts happening really quickly after this and I just want to get to it! Ugh. Anyways, much love and happiness and hugs I send to you my readers, followers, and reviewers. You're the best.**

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The week after Sam breaks his leg, Cas visits his apartment after work almost every day. Sam is, of course, practically useless on his crutches for the first couple days (and his leg _freaking hurts_) and he is more than happy to let Cas and Dean take care of him. Dean dances around himself to avoid Cas when he comes over, shifting whatever he's doing into another room or taking ridiculously long smoke breaks out on the porch. Cas knows why he's doing it, but at least they aren't fighting.

Until Friday, that is. Cas is about to push open the door that night when Dean throws the door open, grabs his elbow, and drags him around the corner to the tiny alley between Sam's building and the next one. They wrestle for a minute, but Dean is bigger than Cas and when Cas gets his foot hooked around Dean's ankle, Dean's elbow somehow connects with his face, and it's just really not a pleasant experience.

"What the hell!" Cas shouts when Dean slams his back against the wall. It's not as much a question as an exclamation, and it's a lot wheezier than he would have hoped.

"Did you tell Sam I was drinking?"

Dean's got his arm across Cas's chest and he struggles against it. "What?!"

Dean shoves him again. "Sam and I had a fight about it this morning," he growls, "so someone told him."

Cas goes still and stares at him incredulously. "Why would you think I told him?"

"Because I _know_ you wish I was gone – "

"Are you crazy?!" Cas shouts, and well, that must be the magic word, because Dean suddenly drops his hand like he's been burned and jolts back a step. _Geez_. "I never told Sam anything." Cas yanks his coat back into place. "I'm not out to get you, what the hell is wrong with you?"

Dean is still standing two feet away, his arms hanging loosely by his sides, and looking like a deer in the headlights.

"Well?" Cas demands, and the sound makes Dean twitch back again.

"I'm not," he says, roughly. "I'm not crazy."

"What?" Cas just wants to go inside. Where it's safe.

"I'm not crazy," Dean says again, and then louder, "I'm not like my dad!" He moves to threaten Cas again and Cas raises his hand reflexively. Dean stops when he sees it and Cas sees his eyes widen in fear. "I'm not crazy," Dean says again, backing away, "I'm not, I'm not."

Cas is scared, too, watching this, and he doesn't know how to respond. "Dean…" he says quietly, and puts his hand out, reaching for Dean's shoulder. He jerks away at the touch.

"He doesn't believe me," Dean says, his voice breaking. "Sam doesn't think I'm okay." He drags the heel of his palm roughly across his eyes while he speaks. "I'm not crazy. It's not my fault."

A door slams open and shut somewhere above them and Cas stands still, staring at Dean, and trying to process whatever confession he unwittingly just dragged out of the other man. There's a niggling in the back of his mind that Sam probably warned him about this – that when Sam would say his dad was crazy, he actually meant _his dad was crazy_ – and he's somehow intensely more uncomfortable knowing that Sam thinks Dean is crazy than that _he_ thinks Dean might be crazy.

"Ninety-four percent of _psychotics think they__'__re perfectly sane_," he blurts out, and then mentally slaps himself. Dean's eyebrows furrow and Cas blunders on, "So I guess we have to ask ourselves, what is sane? Are you sane because you know you are or because you think you might not be?"

"I don't understand," Dean says.

Cas doesn't really either. "I'm saying I don't think you're crazy," he says. "I mean, you just – you don't seem like you are. When you're not assaulting me." This probably isn't how you're supposed to comfort the violent guy who's possibly having a mental breakdown in front of you. Oh well. Dean doesn't look like he's got the energy to do much else but stare. He doesn't move for a few seconds, but then he huffs half-heartedly and slumps against the wall behind him. He presses his palms into his eyes again.

"I'm a drunk who can't pay his bills, and I'm twenty-nine years old and I have to live with my brother, and I've got a schizo dad who's who-the-hell-knows where."

"But you're not crazy," Cas says. "You're not your father."

There's a quiet intensity in the air between them, Cas looking over at Dean and Dean looking down at the ground. Dean doesn't look up when he speaks again. "No one's ever told me that," he says, and Cas feels his heart break just a little bit for the guy he's still not sure he even likes. Dean pushes himself off the wall and glances over at Cas, but doesn't meet his eyes. "So thanks," he says, after a pause, "but I don't deserve it."

Cas doesn't respond. He watches Dean walk out of the alley and presses his fingers to the bruise forming on his cheekbone.


	9. the good days

The next few weeks are kind of a blur at work. Cas and Ruby are running around preparing for their annual charity gala ("Does the caterer have shrimp balls? WE CAN'T DO IT WITHOUT SHRIMP BALLS, CAS!") and when he's not making phone calls to prospective donors, Cas is collapsed at his window table with a full-caf latte, making small talk to whoever comes by. More often than not, that turns out to be Dean. Cas had thought Dean probably wouldn't want to talk to him after the alleyway incident, but he appears to be functioning like it never happened. Or like anything before that happened, really. Which is okay with Cas. Mostly, he doesn't really want to be saddled with being the only person who knows Dean's insecurities, but he also might not want to admit that he liked how it felt to have Dean's body pressed up against his.

So Dean comes by the table, sometimes sits down, and is generally polite, if not pleasant (which, _Dean Winchester can be charming? That's new)_. Sometimes Dean tells him about how Sam almost broke his other leg trying to stand on a chair, other times Cas complains about his loud frathouse neighbors. After a while it actually becomes really easy to converse with Dean, and all previous experiences aside, Cas thinks he might like being friends with Dean.

One Wednesday, Cas is balancing his latte in one hand and his worn-out copy of _Cat's Cradle_ in the other when Dean drops down in the chair across from him. "I prefer _Slaughterhouse-Five_," he says.

Cas looks up at him in surprise. "You read Vonnegut?" he asks.

"_Around and around and around we spin, with feet of lead and wings of tin_," Dean recites. Cas tries not to gape. "Yeah. Dude's pretty great. I've got his, uh, his birdcage tattooed here." Dean taps his chest just above his heart. "I mean it's just, you know, got some personal meaning. Sam hasn't even seen it." He clears his throat and shifts in his seat.

"I personally didn't care for _Breakfast of Champions_," Cas says, and then without thinking, "but I'm sure I'd like to see your tattoo."

Dean keeps a neutral expression but tilts his head to the side. Cas raises one eyebrow.

"Yeah," Dean says slowly. "Maybe." His tongue darts out to lick his lips and Cas shrugs.

"I suppose it's just not for everybody."

Dean blinks at him. "Uh."

"The book."

"Oh! Right. The book. Not for everyone, yeah." He shifts and licks his lips again (a motion which Cas does not stare at, _okay, maybe a little, shut up_).

_Right, time for a change of subject_. "My sponsorship gala's on Saturday," Cas says, "and you and Sam are welcome to come. Sam's come before."

Dean relaxes and wrinkles his nose up. "Is it fancy?"

Cas grins. "Black tie," he says, "to impress the rich donors."

"Well, shoot," Dean says with mock disappointment, "You really shouldn't want me there, then." Then he smirks at Cas and Cas can't help but laugh.

"Your brother already scared off the worst of them last year. Has he ever told you about it? He showed up in that awful brown suit of his…" The rest of the story is told through tears of laughter at Sam's expense, even after he hobbles over to chastise Cas for telling embarrassing stories.

Needless to say, Wednesday is a good day. Cas doesn't come in to Winchester's on Thursday, but he stops by briefly on Friday morning to grab coffee before he has to run errands all day long. Dean smiles when he runs Cas's credit card through. "Looking forward to tomorrow," he says. It surprises Cas, but in a nice way that makes his stomach flutter, and not just because it'll make his charity look good. He smiles shyly back at Dean.

"I'm looking forward to it, too," he says. "If it all goes according to plan."

Dean chuckles. "I'm sure it will." He looks Cas right in the eye when he hands him his coffee cup and says conspiratorially, "There's lots of things you can pull off as long as you're in a tuxedo."

Cas feels his face heat up and _whoops,_ that's not from the hot latte in his hand. It might be from the fingertips brushing against his, though. His smile twitches again and he may just sway his hips a little bit as he leaves the shop.

* * *

**For reference, Vonnegut's birdcage looks like this: . . It's a reference to a scene in _Breakfast of Champions_ where Kilgore Trout tries to set his parakeet free, and the bird refuses to leave - which Trout thinks is the best choice, since now he'll always have something to look forward to.**

**As always, thank you and I love you all for reading! [:**


	10. saturday night

Cas smooths down the front of his tuxedo jacket in the men's room mirror again. The gala really is a huge deal, if he wants Garrison Charities to keep on keepin' on – and freakin' Fergus Crowley, their biggest sponsor, is actually coming this year, and _oh geez_. It's been a stressful day, and he'll be glad when the night is over.

He also may be looking forward to what might happen at the end of the night.

Cas has given up on denial. He's been attracted to Dean since he apparated his hot ass into Cas's comfort zone a couple of months ago, and once they got past the bitching-at-each-other stage of their relationship, his crush only got worse. When he went to get his and Ruby's coffee early this afternoon, Dean had smiled at him and mentioned the gala again, and well, that's all Cas needed to suddenly turn into a high school girl and start planning in his head just how to get the message out tonight that he'd like to change his answer to Dean's offer from last month. He worries a little that said offer may not still be available, but he figures that with the way Dean's been looking at him (and the way he's been looking at Dean), it probably still is.

Once he's finally out in the gala room, though, his attention is taken up by all kinds of things, starting with last-minute adjustments and then shifting to greeting sponsors, friends, benefactors and beneficiaries. He sneaks a high-five to Ruby when the room starts filling up and she grins.

A hopeful sponsor, a friend of Ruby's named Meg, is telling Cas some ridiculous story when Ruby nudges him with her elbow and gestures to where Sam and Dean are walking in. Cas excuses himself and lets Ruby take over while he makes his way over to the door. Sam's got Jess on his arm – _good, it'll keep Ruby at bay_ – and there's a bearded man walking next to Dean who Cas thinks he recognizes from the coffee shop. Sam must know him.

Sam sees Cas first and waves. Jess lets go of him to grab Cas in a tight hug while Sam shuffles his way over with his brother and friend. He hugs him with one arm. "Congratulations, man," Sam says, grinning. Dean smiles at him too, gives him a brief clap on the shoulder (_sweet glorious contact), _and then turns to the guy behind him.

"Cas, this is Benny Lafitte," he says. Benny puts out his hand and Cas shakes it firmly.

"Nice to meet you, Mr. Lafitte."

Benny chuckles. "Just Benny," he says. He's got a low southern drawl and he seems laid-back. It's easy for Cas to like him immediately.

"I've seen you around the coffee shop," Cas says. "How do you know these guys?"

There's a momentary pause. Dean shifts his weight. "Me 'n' Benny are dating," he says without catching Cas's eye, and Benny moves to place his hand on Dean's back.

Cas's face goes slack. The metaphorical walls of his plan crumble around him. Sam laughs at something Jess says and claps Cas on the back. He says something about going to find food. Cas isn't really hearing him.

"Oh," he manages to say after a moment, "really."

The corner of Benny's eyes crinkle and he smiles at Dean. Cas swallows hard. "Only for about a month now," Benny says, shrugging, and his damn stupid southern drawl is way too sugary-sweet for Cas to stand right now.

"How nice."

Dean is smiling, but he still isn't quite meeting Cas's eyes. "The party looks great, Cas," he says, "and so does your tux." Cas forces a laugh, thanks them for coming, directs them to the buffet, and steps into the hallway.

He is not, not prepared for this eventuality, because even if he thought Dean wouldn't still want him, he never thought he'd be dating someone _else_, and Cas realizes with a sudden surge of nausea just how selfish of a person that must make him. He squeezes his eyes shut and leans heavily against the wall. _And the night is just getting started_, he thinks spitefully. The door to the ballroom opens and he glances up to see Ruby.

"You should start your speech – " she starts, and then she really looks at him. She sighs pityingly, and walks over to him to put her hand on his shoulder. "Oh, Cas," she says, "boys are just dumb." And he can't think of a way to contradict her.

* * *

**I...um. /hides face in hands/ I don't have much to say about this. Blerg.**


	11. two weeks later

Cas doesn't go to the coffee shop the next week. Or the week after that. Sam texts him to see if he's okay, and he gives him vague replies to keep him from worrying. Dean doesn't have his phone number, Cas thinks mournfully to himself, _I'm moping over him and he doesn't even have my phone number._ Cas knows exactly how pathetic he's being, and he hates himself for it, and he can't quite seem to care.

Eventually, it's necessity that drives him down the stairs and into the familiar sour scent of Winchester's. Ruby is out of town for some family business, so he couldn't get her to go down for him, and he's run out of the pre-ground coffee beans in his office, so he leaves his office reluctantly. It ought to feel good walking into the shop after so long, but Cas just feels an uncomfortable tenseness in between his shoulder blades.

It doesn't help that the first thing he sees when he opens the door is Benny leaning over the counter to plant a kiss on the corner of Dean's mouth. It so much doesn't help that Cas has already started to turn around and walk back out before remembering that he is a grown-up and needs to act like one. He turns around to walk further into the shop. Dean isn't actually working the register – Jo is – he's just leaning on his hands against the end of the counter closest to the back room while Benny hitches one hip against it on the other side. Neither of them see Cas, until, of course, Sam (newly freed from his cast and sporting a walking brace) spots him and calls out his name. Benny waves. Cas doesn't look to see Dean's reaction.

"I was worried about you, man," Sam says as he clumps over to him. "You can't disappear like that!"

Cas waves him off. "I had to recover after the gala. I'm back now, though." He means it, he really does.

Sam beams. "Dean!" he calls, over his shoulder, "go make Cas's latte!" Dean grins, salutes him, and spins around to go to work. Cas tenses again.

"No," he calls out quickly, "I just need a drip!" Sam quirks an eyebrow at him and Cas smiles nervously at him. Plain coffee isn't his favorite, but it means Dean won't have as much of a hand in it. Dean shrugs and fills the cup while Cas asks Sam how his leg is feeling, and he waits until Dean has put the coffee cup down on the counter before going to get it.

Benny smiles at him when he walks over. "Good seeing you again, Cas," he says. Cas forces himself to try to relax and be nice. Benny continues, "Dean was gettin' antsy over you." He looks up at Dean teasingly.

Cas blinks at him. "He…oh?"

Dean whacks Benny with the end of a dishtowel. "I may have been _concerned_, because you were missing." He gives Benny a glare. "Stop telling lies."

"I call it as I see it," Benny says, shrugging, and he laughs when Dean smacks him again.

Cas watches them and hates the way his chest feels suddenly empty. Thank god for Sam, who calls him over to his table. Cas goes gladly, not even bothering to excuse himself from Dean and Benny, who are play-fighting across the counter. Sam holds his arm out to Cas and wraps it around his shoulders when he gets close, pulling him in to ostensibly look at something on his phone, but instead Sam leans his head close to Cas's and says, "What do you think of them?"

Cas turns his head to look at him in surprise. "Uh, them?" He jerks his thumb back towards the couple at the counter.

"Yeah."

Well. Cas doesn't exactly want to answer that. "Benny's nice, I guess," he says elusively.

"Yeah, but, how about them _together_?"

Cas narrows his eyes. "Are you asking me because I'm the only gay guy you know?"

"What! Shit, no, Cas." Sam splutters a laugh. "I just wanna know what you think."

Cas sighs resignedly. "I haven't really spent much time with them," he says. Sam looks at him pleadingly. "But they seem happy, anyway. Why? Are you worried?"

Sam shrugs and furrows his eyebrows. "I dunno. They just – they look happy, but when I ask Dean about it, he doesn't wanna talk."

"That doesn't seem like unusual behavior for him."

Sam laughs. "True," he says. He thumps Cas's shoulder. "Dean just doesn't usually go on more than one date with anyone, so I'm probably just paranoid." Cas's chest clenches at this new information and he glances back at the coffee counter. Benny's migrated off somewhere (Cas doesn't look for him) and Dean looks up at Cas. He smiles, but his eyes are sad. Cas doesn't like that look.

"I think they're fine," Cas lies. He smiles at Sam reassuringly and extricates himself from under his arm, saying he has to get back to work since Ruby's gone. Sam smiles back, waves him out the door. Cas doesn't catch the way Dean stares at him the whole way out.

* * *

**So today is double chapter Wednesday because 1) there's no new episode and 2) I realized as I went to edit this that nothing actually happens except for ~character development~ or something, I am so not a real writer you guys. Anyways. So skip on through to the next one, too!**


	12. friday night, saturday morning

_I didn't mean to overhear their conversation_, Cas repeats to himself as he drinks Saturday morning's latte nervously the next week, _I didn't even want to overhear that conversation_. But Cas is, apparently, in the business of finding out things about Dean he wasn't supposed to know. He curses.

In an effort to be a mature, responsible friend and neighbor, Cas has visited Winchester's every day since his awkward return. And then he'd even invited Sam and Dean and, yes, Benny, out to watch the new Die Hard movie last night. Which is, he supposes, where his life went entirely wrong. Cas curses again. A lady at the next table frowns at him. He glares back.

The movie had been entertaining, and the company pretty fun, and afterward the four of them all agreed that nachos were in order. There was a Buffalo Wild Wings nearby, so they'd headed over. Sam and Cas got a table while Dean and Benny went…somewhere. Sam had rolled his eyes and whispered to Cas that it happened a lot, which didn't exactly make Cas feel better, but oh well. Cas realized after few minutes in that he'd left his wallet in his car, so he'd gone back out to the parking lot. His car was a few spaces over from Dean's Impala, so _really_, it was their fault they didn't notice him walking over.

"I'm just trying to figure out where I stand with you," Dean is saying as Cas gets up to his car. He stops.

"We've had this conversation. You're my boyfriend, right?" Benny says (and Cas _did not_ flinch at the word). "That's where you stand."

"Benny. I saw her at the theater, too. And I saw the way you looked at her."

"I miss her. Am I not allowed to miss her?"

"Yes! But - I just want to know if that's – if that's all."

There's a pause. "Dean," Benny says softly, "Are you worried I'm gonna cheat on you?"

Dean makes a non-committal noise. Benny sighs. "I'll do lots of things, Dean, but if you think I'm gonna cheat on you, you're crazy." He says it lightly, but Cas bites his lip.

Dean growls low in his throat. "Don't you say that."

"What?"

"I am not. Crazy," Dean spits out, accenting every word. Cas hears boots scuffing on the asphalt.

"Woah, Dean!" Benny says, surprised. "I know you're not really crazy. Hey, darlin'. Calm down."

Dean breathes heavily and he doesn't speak for a moment. There are more footsteps, and Dean's next words come out muffled. "I'm not crazy," he says quietly.

"Yeah, I know, babe."

"…I want this to work."

"Then we'll try," Benny murmurs. "It's not the end of the line yet."

Cas knows he's blushing and he ducks his head like he can hide it. The silence stretches on uncomfortably until he hears the quiet but unmistakable sound of lips pulling apart. "Okay," Dean says. Benny huffs pleasantly.

Cas waits until the two have walked off before he pulls open his car door and retrieves his wallet. Then he returns to the restaurant. He doesn't have the nerve to look either of them in the eye the rest of the night.

So Cas sits at his window table today and curses. Benny had been in earlier, to drop Dean off for his shift. Dean is wearing the same clothes he had on last night, Cas notices mournfully. It's not so much that he cares that Benny is sleeping with Dean, he thinks stupidly to himself, as much as that he hates that Benny knows what Dean's tattoo looks like and he doesn't. It makes him unreasonably and irrationally _jealous_. He'll admit that he was sort of hoping that it wouldn't work out between them after last night – and yeah, he knows how terrible that makes him, and that's why he's trying to make himself look as inconspicuous as he can. Of course, Dean doesn't acknowledge this, and he sits himself down across the table as soon as he has a chance.

"Cas," he begins seriously. Then he pauses.

"…Dean."

Dean licks his lips and glances over his shoulder. Then he turns back to Cas. "I have this friend," he starts. "And his, uh, the person he's dating, they still like their ex." A pause. "If the person you were dating still liked their ex…what would you do?"

Cas stares at him. _If only he knew just how much I don't want to be having this conversation._ "I. Uh. I suppose it depends on how much they still liked the ex. And how much they liked you."

"Him."

"Right. Him." Cas clutches at his latte and tries to shrink into the seat behind him. "But that's sort of personal."

Dean ignores the hint. "But what if you liked someone else, too?" he asks suddenly, and he stares at Cas like he holds all the answers to his future. It makes Cas squirm and his mouth hangs open slightly. He doesn't respond for a long moment because he doesn't know how to respond.

Dean is still staring at him.

"Then you might have reached the end of the line," Cas says lowly.

Dean tilts his head. His eyes look sad again.

"Okay," he says, and he gets up to make someone else's coffee.

* * *

**Aaaaaaaaaaaand there we go. Now the only thing I have to decide is how long to make you wait for the next one...hehehe. Heh.**

**(The answer is "probably not long.")**


	13. the end of the week

The days turn warmer and Sam starts leaving the front door of the shop open, and Jess spends her days there while her elementary school students are on spring break. Cas has always liked Jess, and he likes to bug Sam about when he's going to _marry her, already_, though with the way Sam blushes and ducks his head when Cas asks these days, Cas thinks it won't be long. Dean surprises Cas every so often with a new kind of iced tea Sam ordered, and Cas always takes it with a smile and "thank you, Dean," that hides every other thing he'd like to say to him.

Benny is in the shop, too, before his shifts at the hospital, and in the evenings to pick Dean up from work. They're kind of disgustingly in like, and Cas despairs that instead of his crush going away, it just keeps gnawing at him. He knows just how hopelessly far gone he is when he overhears Dean quoting Vonnegut to Benny and has to leave the shop before he cries, or breaks down, or does something else equally dumb. He goes home that night and stares at _Cat's Cradle_ on his shelf. He hasn't looked at it since the week of the gala, two months ago. It makes him ache all over and he goes to bed without microwaving dinner.

"I guess Dean's moving out," Sam says to Cas when they're jogging together one morning. "Gonna live with Benny."

It nearly knocks the wind out of Cas, and he stumbles. "That's kind of fast," he says after he's steadied himself.

Sam wipes the back of his hand across his forehead. "That's what I think, but I honestly don't want to fight with him. He wants to be away from me again, so he can do that." Cas just grunts in reply, but the news puts him in a funk for the rest of the day. Ruby pops him on the back of his head when he has to ask her a third time _where that memo is that you wrote, again?_

Sam asks Cas to come over one Friday night for burgers, says he might not be home yet when Cas gets there, but Dean will so come on in. Cas knocks when he gets there, then pushes open the door. The apartment is clean and there aren't any boxes lying around like there ought to be if Dean is moving out any time soon. It's also dark. And silent. None of Dean's classic rock albums are playing, no one's humming in the kitchen, and in the darkness Cas trips over a pair of boots in the hallway.

"Hello?" he calls as he moves towards the kitchen. There's no reply for a moment, and then Dean's voice comes roughly from the kitchen.

"I'm in here." Cas steps into the kitchen, which is just as dark as the rest of the apartment, and flips on the light switch. Dean is sitting in the corner on the floor with his knees up to his chest and he flinches at the sudden light.

"Dean?"

Dean smiles weakly and waves half-heartedly. He's got a bottle of whiskey in his hand. "Hey, Cas. Good of you to come over." His voice sounds choked, like he's trying not to cry. Cas steps across the floor and kneels next to him.

"Are you alright?" He knows he's not able to keep the worry out of his voice.

Dean leans his head back and it hits the cabinet with a soft thud. He chuckles mirthlessly. "I'm fiiiiine," he drawls. "Just fine."

Cas purses his lips. "I'm going to call Benny," he says after a moment, and he moves to take the bottle from Dean's hand. He puts up no resistance to it being taken, but he lunges forward when Cas pulls out his cell phone.

"No!" he says, grabbing Cas's wrist. "Don't call him. I didn't drink it, Cas." Cas stares at him, then at the bottle in his hand. It hasn't even been opened yet. "Please don't call Benny," Dean says pleadingly. His damn pretty green eyes look miserable, and Cas not-so-grudgingly puts his cell phone back in his pocket. Dean hasn't let go of his wrist.

"You're okay?" Cas asks.

Dean nods and takes a shaky breath. "I'm okay. Help me up?"

Cas stands, takes both his hands and lifts. When Dean stands, he accidentally stumbles forward and into him, his chest leaning against Cas's. Cas draws in a sharp breath and drops Dean's hands, but other man doesn't move. Instead, he leans into him even more and drops his forehead onto Cas's shoulder.

Cas has never been so conflicted in his life. He freezes, unsure whether to push Dean off or wrap his arms around him. It would be easier if Sam would come home, to startle Dean into moving, but he doesn't.

"Dean," Cas says, weakly. Dean _hmms_. "Are you, uh. Sure you're okay?"

"You smell good," Dean mutters. "Like coffee."

"From spending too much time with you and your brother," Cas says. "Should I call Sam?"

"No." Dean finally moves, leans away and lifts his head just enough to look at Cas. He sniffs. "I'm having a bad day."

"I can see that."

"I'm having a bad week."

"I'm sorry."

Dean shrugs. His eyes haven't left Cas's. "I like the way coffee smells," he whispers. "I like that it reminds me of you."

Cas's pulse skyrockets. There's suddenly too much silence, too much pressure, too much space between his face and Dean's, too much of _everything_. "Dean," he starts to say uncertainly, but it's cut off when Dean leans forward just an inch more and presses his lips to Cas's.

And then there's not enough of anything – not enough contact, not enough air, not enough of _Dean_. He grabs blindly at Dean's shirt, and Dean's hands end up on his hips and push until his back hits the counter. The jolt makes Cas gasp into Dean's mouth and he feels Dean smile. It's awesome and it's soft and warm and Cas's hand presses into Dean's chest, just above his heart, and suddenly he remembers where he is and who he is and he shoves Dean away as his eyes fly open.

"You're moving in with Benny," he gasps. He hates the way his voice breaks, even though he tries not to let it. "You're – you're with him."

Silence. Cas stares at the floor. Dean's frowning. "Did Sam tell you that?" Cas nods. Dean shifts his legs awkwardly. "Well, he's wrong. We're not – yeah."

Cas's heart jolts. "You're not?" he says. He curses silently at how hopeful he sounds.

"No."

But it still doesn't feel right. Cas shakes his head. "You're still with him, though. I can't – I shouldn't." He turns and leaves, trips over the boots again on his way down the hallway. Dean follows, trying to grab his arm again. Cas turns around when he reaches the porch. "I'm sorry about your bad day," he says, and shuts the door on Dean's face.

He flinches when he hears the bottle shatter against the door. He doesn't turn around again.

* * *

**I'm just gonna...wait over here...**

**p.s. you guys are awesome! [:**


	14. sunday

Sunday is cloudy from an incoming cold front, and Cas stares at it from his kitchen window and thinks that it's fitting that the day he runs out of coffee is the day he runs out of sunshine, too. He's still in his pajama pants at 11am, too morose to go to the store, or answer his phone (or find his phone…he thinks it ended up in a pile of clothes after he texted an apology to Sam on Friday night). He twists and cracks his back.

He really wants to kiss Dean again.

Finally, Cas sighs and tears himself away from the window. He putters around his house for a slow hour, rearranging books in no particular order, throwing out old newspapers, and moving dirty dishes to the sink. He starts the radio because in the silence, he can think too much. It's a song by a girl with a pretty voice, saying _what I wouldn't do if I had you, babe_. He shuts it off quickly.

He really, _really_ wants to kiss Dean again.

He's wondering if he ought to try to do laundry when a knock on the door interrupts his thoughts.

It's Dean. He's got a coffee cup in one hand and an unlit cigarette clenched in his teeth. He doesn't look like he's slept recently. Cas crosses his arms across his chest and tries to look casual as he leans against the doorframe.

"Yes?"

Dean removes the cigarette, swallows like it's taking effort. Clears his throat, scuffs his foot along the ground. Looks back up at Cas.

"Benny and I broke up," he blurts out. "On Friday."

Cas doesn't move. His heart is trying to beat its way out of his chest. "…I'm sorry," he says.

"Don't be." Dean looks at him with his sad eyes and shakes his head. "It was never gonna work. We, uh. Too many outside forces."

Cas doesn't speak.

Dean breathes in heavily and presses on. "You remember what I asked you, after the movie?" Cas nods once. "I like _you_, Cas. I like you a lot. I like your dumb hair and your trench coat and your eyes and your half-caf lattes and the way you read Vonnegut like a goddamn Bible."

Cas clenches his jaw. When he speaks, his voice is rough. "Then why did you date Benny?"

Dean laughs hollowly. "Because I don't know how to handle rejection? Because I'm a mess and I don't know how to deal with – life – and when you said no, I just needed _someone_, and he was there." He looks away and breathes in again. "And it was stupid, and I wished I hadn't, every time I saw you. And I'm scared of what I did, and I'm scared of being alone, and I'm scared of walking away and never feeling the rest of my whole life the way I feel when I'm with you."

Cas cracks a smile despite the very manly tears in his eyes. "Is that from _Dirty Dancing_?"

"What? No. Yes. Shut up."

"How much time did you spend planning that speech?"

Dean glares at him. "Do you want me to make this confession or not, man?"

Cas laughs and rubs his hands over his eyes. "Yes, Dean."

Dean shuffles in place, and then holds out the coffee cup. "This is for you," he says.

Cas reaches out and takes it. His fingertips brush against Dean's.

"I like you, too," he says, and Dean's eyes don't look sad anymore.

He wants to keep it that way.

Sam and Jess get engaged three weeks later. They tell Dean and Cas over dinner one Friday at a funky Italian place near Sam's apartment, and while Dean slaps Sam on the back, Cas hugs Jessica and whispers _finally_. She laughs.

After that, Fridays become what Dean calls _special date nights_, because Cas doesn't understand why they need to be different from every other night they spend together, even though Dean has explained multiple times that _eating popcorn and making me make you coffee is not a date even if there is sex, Cas, we have to go somewhere sometimes,_ and Saturdays become lazy days after Dean convinces Jo to switch shifts with him. Cas suspects there was more bribing than convincing, but he doesn't complain, not while he's laying on top of Dean on the couch watching the Hoarders marathon. Dean's wearing a v-neck shirt and Cas sneaks his fingers under the neckline to trace the lines of the tattoo underneath. Dean growls. Cas smirks.

"I think I may have a job at that garage up on Holland Street," Dean says during a commercial break. "Turns out my Uncle Bobby had a _thing_ with the lady who runs it." He makes a face.

"Uncle Bobby who threatened to make you work at his garage for free until you cleaned up your act?"

Dean snorts into Cas's hair. "The one and only. I'm sure you'll have the pleasure of meeting him at Sammy's wedding." He goes silent for a moment, brooding.

Cas pushes up on his elbows. "Dean?"

"Hmm?"

"I'm proud of you."

The corner of Dean's mouth twitches. "Okay."

Cas leans down and kisses the corner of his mouth that smiled. Then his phone rings, and when he reaches to get it, Dean swats at him. "I can't see," he whines, so Cas leaves his elbow in his face when he answers.

"Hello?" Dean shoves at him again.

"Hey, Cas."

_Oh geez._ Cas sits up abruptly and knocks Dean's bowl of popcorn over with his knee. Dean makes an annoyed sound. "Hi, Benny," Cas says, raising his eyebrows meaningfully. Dean frowns.

"I hope this isn't awkward."

Dean makes grabby hands for the phone. Cas shakes his head. "Uh, I mean, it kind of is."

Benny laughs. "Yeah, I guess it is." Dean sits up and in the process dislodges Cas from his lap. He grunts when he hits the floor. "I just wanted to let you know that I'm not sore about anything. Dean and I parted friends."

Cas is brushing popcorn off of himself. "You missed one," Dean whispers, and smacks his ass.

"Thank you," Cas says. "I'm glad to hear that. And…I'm not sore about anything either."

"You could be," Dean says from where he's stretched out on the couch again. Cas blushes and kicks him.

"I haven't been coming around the shop because I didn't know how you'd feel about it. But I miss it. It's just one of those places, you know what I mean?"

Cas knows exactly what Benny means. He smiles and sits on Dean's stomach. Dean wheezes. "I think you should come over whenever you want, then."

There's a pause where Cas imagines Benny is smiling. "Thanks, brother," Benny says. "Tell Dean hey."

"Sure." The phone clicks off.

"Benny says hey," Cas says. Dean grimaces.

"Get off."

"Don't be an ass."

"I can't _breathe_!"

With a resigned sigh, Cas shifts until they're comfortably squished together again. He looks up at his boyfriend – _jesus, Dean Winchester is his boyfriend now_ – and thinks about just how fantastically happy he is that the coffee shop below his office got a new barista.

(And then Dean yells at the TV right in his ear.)

* * *

**aaaand we've reached the end! this is another chapter that was originally two chapters, but i ended up combining them so everything can be happy and fluffy and skldjfklsd BOYS. anyway. i love you all for reading!**

**and...**

**(there may or may not be a sequel in my word document...shhhhHHHH)**


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